The call concluded.
No one moved or uttered a word.
My hand remained rigid around the phone. Victor immediately stepped forward.
"Was that Kael?" he inquired. I nodded in response. "He is alive."
A brief expression of relief crossed Kael's father's face before I spoke again.
"He was not alone."
The relief disappeared entirely.
"Who?"
Victor asked quietly. I hesitated before responding. "I do not know."
I repeated the statement. "I have been waiting for you, Lena." The room fell into silence. Victor's face paled, and Kael's father remained motionless.
Suddenly, I realised something significant. They recognised those words. "Who said that previously?" I demanded. Victor averted his gaze, and Kael's father closed his eyes. "Tell me!" I insisted. Finally, Victor answered, "Your father." "What?" I exclaimed. "Years ago, whenever Shadow contacted someone…" His voice became almost a whisper. "Those were always the first words." Cold fear spread through me. Shadow, the ghost, the traitor, the enemy my father hunted knew my name, and he had Kael. "Can we trace the call?" I asked. Victor shook his head. "It has already ended." I slammed my hand on the table. "Then what are our next steps?" Before anyone could respond, Kael's father spoke. "We should cease reacting." Everyone turned to look at him. "What do you mean?" I asked. He approached the window. "For years, Shadow survived because everyone pursued him." He turned back toward us. "What if that is precisely what he desires?" Victor gradually understood. "You want to bait him." Kael's father nodded. "He has finally revealed himself." "Which indicates that he is confident," I said. "And confident individuals are prone to mistakes." I wished to agree, but my thoughts were preoccupied with Nora and Kael, both missing and suffering because of secrets that were not their own. Suddenly, Victor froze. "What is it?" I inquired. He was looking at the files on Kael's phone. "The folder." "What about it?" I asked. "Kael prepared this," Victor explained. "Yes," I responded. His eyes widened. "No," he said. "He anticipated this." Silence ensued. Then, understanding dawned on all of us. Kael must have foreseen something terrible, leaving behind additional clues. We examined every file, pictures, voice notes, and old messages, but found nothing. Until I opened a photograph. At first, it appeared ordinary, featuring my father, Victor, young Kael, Elara, and my mother, until I zoomed in.
A reflection appeared in the glass behind them, showing someone standing in the background, barely visible, observing.
My heartbeat halted because the face looked familiar, too familiar.
I enlarged the image. Victor suddenly grasped the table for support.
"No."
He whispered. Kael's father murmured, "Impossible."
"What?"
I asked desperately.
No one responded.
"Tell me."
I demanded. Victor met my gaze directly. His voice trembled as he said,
"That is Adrian."
The world seemed to halt.
"No."
I whispered. Adrian, the mentor I mourned at his funeral, the man who helped reconstruct my life, could not be alive.
Victor appeared terrified.
"Yes,"
He confirmed.
"But so did Hadrian."
The room fell silent as a terrifying thought emerged:
What if death held no meaning in this conflict?
My phone vibrated again.
An unknown number.
This time, a message, no words, only a photograph. I opened it, and my entire body went cold. Nora, alive, frightened but uninjured. Beside her, Kael, injured with blood on his forehead. Standing behind them was a man wearing black gloves; his face hidden. On the table beside him lay Adrian's old silver watch, the same one I buried with him.
Below the photo, a single message: "Welcome to the final game."
Do you believe Adrian is truly alive, or is someone employing his identity to manipulate Lena?